Survey on students regarding political knowledge, comfort, and engagement, Piedmont voter registration pie chart
The Battleground State of Student Politics, Student Politics in the Eye of the 2024 Election, To Express or to not Express: How Students Navigate the Political Landscape
During a class discussion, a student raises their hand and makes a politically charged statement. The atmosphere shifts as the room warms with anticipation for debate. Most students nod in approval of the student, echoing similar sentiments. However, one student who disagrees feels torn, wondering “Should I stand up for what I believe by speaking or stay silent to avoid the potential backlash?”. Ultimately, this student stays silent, questioning if they are the only person whose beliefs go against the tide.
According to Alameda County voter registration data from 2023, 67 percent of Piedmont voters are registered Democrats. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 89 percent of Democratic parents have teens who share their political affiliations. Many students and teachers only observe Democratic ideas because of this left-leaning majority.
“There’s almost a level of taboo related to any other viewpoint aside from general Democratic views,” senior Carmen Gaylord said.
Similarly, freshman Lucas Bekele said students with unpopular opinions likely feel uncomfortable in political discussions and follow the consensus.
However, other factors beyond political affiliation affect students’ willingness to share their opinions. Social studies teacher David Keller has observed political class discussions for many years.
“Some students are really comfortable talking about their opinions and some students are just not. I find that it’s a bigger function of the personality of the student and less a function of what their opinions are. Having said that, I know from talking to conservative students that they oftentimes feel like they aren’t given as much credibility on campus,” Keller said.
Students also recognize how conservative students could face social challenges because of their views.
“The culture of saying anything that is politically charged or against what is common thought tends to get some backlash,” Gaylord said.
Gaylord said, for example, that no student wants to oppose abortion because it is such a contentious topic.
Though political discussions are less common in math teacher Auban Willats’ class, she strives to create an open-minded atmosphere.
“I don’t want any student in my class to feel stifled, out of place, or unwelcome because of their political beliefs,” Willats said.
Keller said discussing uncomfortable topics in the classroom is important because it helps students learn respectful civil discourse. He cited Former President Obama’s quote, “We can disagree without being disagreeable.”
Willats said society is losing the ability to disagree civilly, but hopes teaching logical thinking and proofs in her math courses will help students learn to reason and make conclusions using objective evidence.
Students have various sources of information, including social media, news, word of mouth, and more.
According to a 2019 survey conducted by Common Sense, a nonprofit that teaches online safety, 54 percent of teenagers source news from social media multiple times per week, while only 41 percent do from print or online news.
“I feel like a lot of students aren’t informed because not many people listen to the news,” Bekele said.
Unlike other information sources, anyone can post a video on TikTok.
Junior Mandy Tang said much of the information she and other students see on social media is biased and comes from random TikTok groups.
Sophomore Lukas Kim said the information on social media is surface-level and lacks evidence to back it up.
“It feels like students only know the broad headlines instead of the intricacies of many politics,” Gaylord said.
Gaylord also said this could be because of students’ time constraints, especially academics.
Tang said she knows news channels are more trustworthy but chooses social media because it is more convenient.
Keller sees this problem as an area where teachers can assist.
“Our job is to help people make up their own minds,” Keller said.
